I can tell that the welfare of this group of Christians is very important to you, and I appreciate that you're trying to look out for them. That said, I would highly recommend avoiding labels like “anti-intellectual,” which can come across as elitist and demeaning. Lacking critical thinking skills doesn't necessarily mean someone is opposed to intellect. That label immediately alienates the very audience you seem to be trying to help.
There are a few things I’d like to comment on from your last post as well.
First, I believe there’s a misunderstanding of what Christians are asking for when it comes to equal opportunity and freedom of religion. We’re not asking to be hired or kept in a job despite lacking essential skills, we simply don't want to be discriminated against because of our beliefs. I’ve never heard a Christian claim they should be hired solely based on their religion.
Also, while critical thinking is certainly important, I’d argue that generative AI will likely be used most often as a tool to assist those who may lack advanced reasoning skills. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s how much of modern technology has evolved. We’ve made massive leaps forward before, and humanity has adapted every time.
Regarding your point about having a “renewed mind,” I agree that intellectual growth can be a part of that, but biblically, the focus is on aligning our thoughts with God’s truth. Romans 12:2 talks about not being conformed to the world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can discern God's will. This transformation is part of what 2 Corinthians 5:17 means when it says we become new creations in Christ.
You’ve also brought up the concept of living in a shared reality. I agree that truth exists and that we need to seek it, but I believe you're underestimating how varied our perceptions of that reality can be. We may live in the same world, but we don’t all process it the same way. That doesn’t make someone “anti-intellectual”, it just makes them human.
Truth matters, but how we communicate truth matters just as much. Imagine visiting a doctor who only cared about reality:
“You have incurable cancer and six months to live. Please stop by the receptionist on your way out to cancel your account.”
Or imagine someone telling every overweight person they meet that they’re fat and need to lose weight. Yes, those things might be “real,” but there’s a serious lack of compassion and wisdom in how they’re delivered.
We have to be careful when guiding others into truth. Done poorly, it can cause emotional harm or spiritual setbacks. This is especially true in matters of faith, as seen in Romans 14, where Paul instructs us not to cause our brothers and sisters to stumble over disputable matters. Verse 21 sums it up well:
“It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.”
I think this passage shows that even when we’re technically correct, the way we handle truth can be just as important as the truth itself. We were created with reason and intellect, but also with emotions, conscience, and relationship. Life isn’t just about logic and facts, it’s also about grace, growth, and love.
I struggle with the terminology to use, when talking about dysfunctional
methodology in trying to use logic, and "conspiracy theories". I admit this.
When I use the term "anti-intellectual", (I think) many Christians who are NOT
in the habit of employing formal logic, don't have any idea what I am talking
about, and probably sort my arguments into a bin of mere rhetoric. I have
experienced this in the past.
About GenAI tools, unfortunately, it will often take a human being with
formal reasoning skills, to tell when the tool is "hallucinating". I would assert
that it is a misunderstanding of the GenAI algorithms, to think that they will
"add" critical thinking skills, to whatever a human being (without critical
thinking skills) may do. (The algorithmic problem with the GenAI neural
networks, is in THE WAY THEY TRY TO STORE INFORMATION as statistical
distributions, instead of having access to a library of facts.
When I talk about "our shared reality", I am not addressing how DIFFERENT
the perceptions of that reality could be, among individuals. I am arguing from
the foundation of God holding us responsible to accurately bear witness to
that reality. In the Bible, this is called "telling the truth", which is the opposite
of "lying". There are all sorts of ways, in the language of Scripture, that we
could "see, and not see", or "hear, and not hear". But still, God holds us
morally-ethically responsible to see and hear, accurately.
I don't think that your argument about causing a brother to stumble, is
relevant. IF God will hold us responsible for telling the truth, THEN we
really need to communicate that to brothers and sisters who may think that
ANY interpretation of our shared reality, is OK. On lying, it is not permissible
to categorize this topic as "disputable". We're talking about a core
Christian doctrine.
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I realize that this topic of conspiracy theories, and dysfuntional logic,
is a difficult one.
